She got an ipod touch (mostly because we wanted her to be able to take it with her to the hospital in the winter, but she decided it needing “WASHING” a few days later and ruined it.  I managed to get a new one – thank goodness I bought that warranty but we ended up re-gifting it to Ross this Christmas… shhhh… don’t tell her… she never even noticed.. obviously she is not hurting for STUFF!)Recent Comments:

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• January 3, 2012 -- Blessed.
• June 24, 2011 -- Kyleigh’s dance recital
• May 15, 2011 -- “It is well. It is well… through the storms, I am HELD”…
• March 20, 2011 -- Spring Cleaning…. part two… Kyleigh’s room
• March 13, 2011 -- “aren’t you just beside yourself happy?”

This time we were at Sandal’s Negril.  We like it there too… but needed WAY more bug spray that I packed!  YIKES!!!  Still longing to go back to our Couples Swept Away haven again soon!

No matter where you go in Negril, you can’t go wrong… unless it’s the Treehouse… DON’T go there!  LOL

Jamaica always has the best sunsets… how could you not?  You’re in Jamaica!

A walk down the shore line in the early morning to claim our beach chairs:

A view of our favorite spot

The view from our breakfast table:

We even tried Sea Kayaking… no no… there will be no images from that!  LOL  I am glad to say that I have DONE IT… not sure I would do it again!  LOL  Either way… it was a nice break from the BUSY time in the summer… we were glad to leave and glad to come home!Recent Comments:

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Random Posts

• June 6, 2008 -- Road Trip anyone???
• December 6, 2008 -- Kyleigh’s Christmas Wish List
• September 6, 2007 -- Long Scary Day…
• March 20, 2007 -- There’s no place like home.
• January 6, 2008 -- Beautiful Soul… what a lucky friend I am!

Troy and I traveled a bit for ourselves too!  Troy is GREAT at finding tickets to small venues.  He found us tickets to Matthew West at the Billy Graham training Center in North Carolina.  We stayed at the Shepherd’s Inn on the property… there were so many hiking trails and it was so serene… no wonder Rev. Graham went there often!  See the mountain just behind the Inn?

The Chapel at the Training Center… GORGEOUS!

And of course Matthew West… The room we were in only held 200 and we were on the FRONT ROW!!! I was literally close enough for him to spit on me!  Luckily he did not.  I also had the privilege of meeting on of the subjects of a song he wrote for the “Story of your life” album… she sat next to me!  Awesome time!

And yes we got to meet him too!

And then decided to take the scenic route home… still undecided if that was a good idea or not!

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Random Posts

• September 4, 2006 -- sumed…
• July 10, 2008 -- Life has been quiet.
• February 19, 2008 -- Can it be??? Is it Possible?
• August 29, 2008 -- The Kindness of Strangers
• March 11, 2010 -- We have a closing date!!!

Summer was amazing… the kids grew up so much, swam like crazy… ALL the time… Owen and Ross each learned to ride their bikes.  Owen went to LEGO camp, Kyleigh went to dance camp, Mom and Dad went to TWO destination weddings, one in Negril, one on Anna Maria Island.  We traveled, and ate out more than was appropriate and my back side is still paying the consequences!  It’s the age old quandary… either you have money, and no time to spend it, or not enough money and more time than you need!  LOL  I cannot complain though… I prayed that God would bless us and our business and allow us to be a blessing and He did and hopefully it WAS!

We learned that Ross’ Kindergarten teacher (our favorite teacher EVER) was leaving the school… so we hosted a goodbye / pool party for her!

We welcomed a new family member… no.. NOT a baby… there will be no more of those unless they don’t speak English and were left on a doorstep.  This is Buddy the Pugglebull.  So ugly he’s cute right?

Kyleigh turned 5 years old in July!!! (WOW!  I cannot begin to believe its been 5 years!)  She is such a big girl now!:

Fall came without warning and took us by storm!  Another busy season for our business came with a TWO weddings in our family and our kids acting as part of the bridal party for one!  :)  Proud mama again there!  There was lots of fun to be had as the boys went back to school:

We chose NOT to send Kyleigh to school knowing that she was scheduled for a life altering surgery in January.  There was no sense to put her in school and then turn around and yank her back out. So she is spending one more year hanging out here at home with mom!

Kyleigh was invited to be the Grand Marshall of the Run to Remember – 9/11 Run to benefit the Kentucky Children’s Hospital:

Recent Comments:

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• January 12, 2010 -- Coming Home!
• January 6, 2010 -- First SNOW!
• November 8, 2009 -- Christmas Card Preview!
• October 31, 2009 -- Carving and Couponing…
• August 28, 2009 -- Another few faves from Gulf Shores…

Yes… so she can’t ride horses or go cliff diving but the girl CAN DANCE!!!!!!  Her hypermobility in her lower limbs actually make her PERFECTLY built to be a dancer   Mommy is of course, extra happy about that!  I mean really if you are going to have a bunch of junk wrong with your body, the one time it is advantageous you have to be happy about it!  Back in May she performed her first dance recital on the stage of the Lexington Opera House.  She was amazing!  I cried… of course.  We wondered if we would ever get to see days like that and every single one that we GET … makes us appreciate every single second!

Recent Comments:

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• January 3, 2012 -- Kyleigh turned 5!!!
• January 3, 2012 -- Blessed.
• May 15, 2011 -- “It is well. It is well… through the storms, I am HELD”…
• March 20, 2011 -- Spring Cleaning…. part two… Kyleigh’s room
• March 13, 2011 -- “aren’t you just beside yourself happy?”

Between Owen and Ross they cleaned up TEN awards at their end of school awards day!  I am SOOO incredibly proud!  Here are a few pics of the boys receiving their awards.  Ross has come SUCH A long way this year… I am always proud of Owen and his natural talent and “smarts” but Ross is something extra special!

Ross and his teaching assistant Ms. Werhle…   Pics of Ross and his teacher to come at our “End of School Party” They are some great ones!

Owen and his first grade teacher Mrs. Hedge.  He will miss her a LOT next year!

Ross accepting the MOST IMPROVED READER award from the Principal.

Ross was SO proud of himself!  As well he should be!

The ceremony was a little long and tested Ky’s patience!  But she made it through thank God!!!

Excited for our bubbies!

Owen accepting the “ART” award for all of the first grade!

Owen with the “Exemplary Student” Award for NO reprimands the entire year!!!!!!! (brings a tear to my eye… that was always an award I took home!)

Owen receiving the SCIENCE Award   *beginning to see a pattern here?  By this point the principal was laughing*

Owen made sure to pose for the camera!  LOL

When the boys went back to their classrooms Ross got four more award and Owen got one more.  SOOOO incredibly proud of them both!Recent Comments:

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Random Posts

• November 22, 2009 -- Making Peace…
• March 11, 2008 -- Ky’s first playdate!!
• December 20, 2007 -- Colostomy Closure: DAY ONE
• November 19, 2008 -- Healing is hard work…
• October 25, 2008 -- Love Letters… Day 9

I love that my girl gets SO tan and SO blonde in the summer!  So does Ross… if they lived near an ocean they would be unbelievably dark.  No one believes that I put as much sunscreen on them as I do!  I took these quickly the other night before we headed out to dinner.  This is Kyleigh, straight out of the pool!

Yes… she is FULL of sass

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Random Posts

• December 28, 2007 -- A few updates…
• April 25, 2009 -- Always- Building 429
• January 29, 2007 -- Owen and the fire
• April 2, 2009 -- Blog Changes!
• June 2, 2007 -- One step forward… two steps back

I took these photos for an online boutique that sells custom boys clothing.  So proud that my boys have such great “looks”.  They have each recently gotten “summer” haircuts so I was glad to have these pics to show off their leftover winter fur!

Owen said that he had been STUDYING “Big Time Rush” (the Disney show) for Modeling POSE ideas… he posed himself here.  Isn’t that hilarious?  My over-achiever.  He had to make SURE he got it right.  He tried so hard and then there is Ross… who is just a total natural!

Some of Ross alone:

Above= Blue Steel

My little men.  I cannot believe how big they are getting.  We just had to cut Ross’ hair SUPER short because he is TWIRLING it in the back and making a MAJOR bald spot … so for the summer he is short… hopefully he will break the habit and can go back to the traditional Rossy do!

I mean really have you ever seen a cuter boy (and saying your OWN … doesn’t count!  ROFL)

I told them that if they did good they could get IN the creek and hunt for fish and turtle.  They saw a turtle when they first got there but he was gone by the end.  They were perfectly happy to throw rocks and watch minnows swim through their toes.  Gosh I love having boys!

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Random Posts

• February 9, 2009 -- Quick update…….
• February 9, 2009 -- Quick update…….
• January 9, 2008 -- Day 5
• August 1, 2006 -- $3.32 in change
• September 27, 2008 -- Ky is SICK again… NEED PRAYERS NOW!

YES we DO!  And I am darned proud of it.

When I try to sum up 2010 in one word, it is gratitude. I am SO grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing my life to be so amazing. I have three amazing kids who make me laugh (and drive me nuts!) everyday. I have a great husband who works as hard as I do for our family and truly cherish our time together. I now live in a household shared with MY PARENTS (gasp… yes… most people would rather shoot themselves than share a house with their parents but my house is BIG and my parents are aging) and my kids get to SEE their grandparents EVERY single day. I cannot tell you what I would give or pay to have my Nana and Pap still around to see me and my family grow up. It’s been 8 years since we lost Nana and I still miss her every single day.

For my children to have the privilege of seeing their Nanae (my mom) and Popo (my dad) everyday, I just know that is such a gift to both my parents and my kids. I know that in years to come my kids will look back and know that it was a sacrifice that was well worth it to not have their own rooms (the boys have to share because we only have 3 bedrooms here) to be able to grow up with the love of their family around them. Last night, Owen said to my mom, “Nanae… I just haven’t seen you enough this week… I miss you!” Now, mind you, we live exactly 16 stairs away from them, my mother cooks the boys breakfast (bacon and eggs! what a life to live with your grandparents!) every single morning and 3/7 nights a week we share a dinner table too. And yet, he was craving some one on one time with my mom. So, after the little kids went to bed, we let him go downstairs with mom and dad (this is generally off limits during bed time… we have some pretty strict rules that are necessary for making the house function with so many people and opinions in it!) and he curled up in bed with them. They read some books, watched Lego Star Wars and when he could hardly keep his eyes open anymore, Owen stumbled back up the stairs to bed. WOW… can you even imagine what kind of nourishment for his SOUL that was? Of for my parents?! I have to say that this communal living started off as something that financially necessary. Now that we are financially stable again, we COULD move out. We could go get another house, another address, another street, but now… we don’t want to. Are there things that drive us absolutely NUTS about each other? Yes, but then again my own offspring can prompt me to want to pull my hair out some days so that is to be expected. Now, we cannot imagine having our life any other way. I still get the sideways glances from people when I say I “live with my parents” but truthfully everyone should consider some form of this. I am already seeing my kids reap the benefits of having so many adults in the house and especially the wisdom that another generation brings to the table.

What started out an effort to erase our large debt that was incurred by Kyleigh’s long medical battles, turned into a willing CHOICE that we will never regret!Recent Comments:

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Random Posts

• February 25, 2007 -- Some Angels Fly Delta!
• December 6, 2008 -- Kyleigh’s Christmas Wish List
• May 28, 2009 -- Coupons 101 – Getting started… Types of Coupons and Where to find them.
• January 5, 2009 -- How to "Deal" with my Not so Normal Life
• October 18, 2008 -- Why a Prince?

I started this post a few days ago on a very different note.  I deleted that post.  I decided that I needed a few days to process and get some perspective.  That perspective came this morning at church.  We are visiting a new church community looking for a new home.  Most of you have heard me refer to God as my Heavenly Father and anyone who is LDS knows that this is a very “LDS” thing.  But to me, regardless of what church community I belong to, God IS my Heavenly Father and I cannot imagine ever speaking to Him in any other way.  For a while now, my heart and soul have cried out for something, anything that felt like home.  Having been displaced from my own home for that past 4 years and ending up giving it up last year has made my soul long for something that like mine.. my own home for my heart.  A place that felt like family and like I could exist there in peace and gain hope and perspective.  I had felt the tugging at my heart for the past year now to visit a certain church that has moved into our neighborhood and I always found a reason to put it off.  Man it is HARD to get up at 8 am on a Sunday after working until 1 or 2 am shooting a wedding but at some you just have to do it.

This morning as we were standing there listening to the worship, I had to fight back tears as I heard these words:

“It is well.  It is well …. through the storms, I am held.  It is well.  It is well with my soul.”

Thinking back to the last 4 years I look back and think these EXACT words.  Through everything, every heartache, scary time, breaking heart, sickening days, impossible choices… it is well with my soul.  Yes, I will admit that my life, until this point may not have been a shining beacon of the perfect “christian”.  I don’t feel the need to be “religious” at all.  I, however, am VERY spiritual.  Yes, so I curse like a sailor … it’s my vice…. but never have I denied the total and complete blessing and grace that my Heavenly Father has allowed me to live under.  I feel no less, “close” to him because i have lost my “religion”.

At any rate this morning’s message was about Discovering God’s will for your life.  Imagine that.  It never fails that He always manages to be JUST where I am and know JUST what I needed to hear!  When thinking about God’s will for our lives people LOVE to quote Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  but I wonder how many people have read the verse just before that, Jeremiah 29:10 ” This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place.”  SEVENTY YEARS!!!!!!  God never promised us that it would be quick or easy   I would say that 70 years in Babylon was probably HARD, wouldn’t you?  If you think about that there is power in those two verses but some people like to read as selectively as they hear.

Or take for instance, Paul.  ^{Acts 20:23-24} “I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”  Paul went into the journey, knowing full well that he could be imprisoned.  I think about life and how very familiar this feels.  We went into Kyleigh’s Morgan’s life KNOWING full well that “hardships” laid ahead.  Not that anyone ever really could have imagined this but it is what it is. The next verse is what Kyleigh has taught me… my only aim in life is to finish the race and complete the tasks that Jesus has given me.  Truly.  People ask me if I was scared that Kyleigh would die and you know this verse is what best describes my LACK of that fear.  I know that my daughter was sent here for a big, amazing purpose and I cannot help but think that her purpose cannot possibly be done yet.  I cannot wait to see the testimony SHE will have from her own voice when she is old enough!  So for now, while I don’t know WHAT that plan is… I know that there IS ONE and that is enough.  I will continue to fight, the run, to move forward and to believe that everything will be just fine.

So that is the back story to this next part.

Part B: You know I feel a bit like a broken record today.  Sadly enough Thursday was  NOT a day unlike any other.  I have been here before…. felt this way before… cried these same tears before.  Too many times as a matter of fact.  We made our mecca to Cincinnati as we do twice a year for Kyleigh’s continuing Urology treatment.  Kyleigh underwent a VCUG (VoidingCystoUrethroGram), formal Urodynamics, Renal Scans and Lab work.  The battery of tests that my daughter undergoes each 6 months are NOT pleasant and I cannot believe that she takes them all in stride like she does.  It would send many a grown man crying from the room to have to endure them but she does it, not because she wants to but because she must.  And she gets some lousy stickers in return yet she is THRILLED when she finds someone who has a princess.  Mommy thinks she deserves way more than stickers!!!

Conclusion: My daughter is again VERY sick.  I knew in my heart that things were not right but everyone kept insisting that she was fine.  Me, I am the mommy.  I have that instinct… I knew.  Off to Cincinnati we went for her semi-annual Urology testing and check in.  Kyleigh has been monitored by Dr. Shumyle Alam at Cincinnati Children’s since she was 16 or 17 months old.  That was the first time he saw her bladder and it was admittedly one of the worst he had ever seen.  In just a year and a half my daughter’s tiny body went a long way toward totally destroying her bladder and kidneys.  At almost 5 years old her body is still attacking itself and her bladder is still failing.  Her kidneys are getting worse.  It’s time to pull the plug on the whole operation and stop the progressive worsening of her bladder and kidney which could eventually cause her to need a transplant or even bring her life to an end.

What is WRONG?: Kyleigh has what is called a neurongenic bladder.  But there are various WAYS in which a bladder can be neurogenic.  We know, beyond a shadow of a doubt that the combination of having a tethered spinal cord for almost two years and having TWO back to back open heart surgeries has left her with nerve damage that is impeding her bladder function.  A bladder is a muscle… like a heart.  If mis-used it can become rigid and scarred.  Kyleigh’s is already there.  WHY she is “continent” we do not know.  There is no reason why… and in all actuality this which we call “continence” is not in fact and it is damaging her kidneys.  Before now, Kyleigh has only ever shown Vesicoureteral Reflux in her LEFT kidney.  Now, its bi-lateral (meaning in both) and worsening by the day.  This is a painful and dangerous thing.  Her labs and GFR are still in the “good” function range for her kidneys so that is EXCELLENT news.  GFR is 114 to be exact!!!   But we know that this number can quickly degrade so we want to do anything possible to maintain where she is now!

How do you fix it?: Surgery, cathing, meds, and prayer.  There really is no other way.  2+ years of cathing, then not cathing, medications, then no meds, has proven to us that her body is not going to play nice and respond the way it should.  Even with interventions she is still damaging her kidneys and bladder.  So… surgery it is.  But some things are still up in the air.  At this point her urologist does not want to operate immediately because we need to test the bladder and see if it will respond positively to meds and cathing.  So back to cathing we go (can you hear the joy in my voice?)……………  within 6 months we will know if her bladder is going to respond and relax or stay rigid and require another procedure on it.  Right NOW… we are scheduled for a bi-lateral ureter reimplantation with a mitrofanoff.  What is a mitrofanoff?  A port in her tummy that will allow her to cath via her tummy instead of from below… as girls get older I think its important to help them maintain as much privacy as they want.  Kyleigh doesn’t even want to wear a DRESS without bloomers or shorts under it so she is a pretty modest cookie.  I support that wholeheartedly!  LOL   This summer sometime we will also go back to Cincinnati for one week for “Bowel Management clinic” with her colorectal surgeon Dr. Levitt.  During that time we will try to see if we can balance her laxatives enough to continue using them.  If not then we will transfer her to an enema system.  If that happens then we will also install another “port” called a Malone / ACE  that will allow her to instill her enemas through her belly instead of rectally.  Now… IF her bladder does NOT respond then she will be facing an additional Bladder Augmentation.  These are bad, scary, hard surgeries with LASTING long term affects and VASTLY increases her risk for cancer (and we are talking cancer when she is YOUNG!!!… that is BAD.)  So we are going to try, with all our might, to stop that surgery from happening… meaning PRAY NOW!

PRAY NOW!!! Seriously… we have never been the people who have asked you to pray for miraculous healing of our child.  We have asked for blessings of wisdom grace and blessings for our doctors and medical staff.  We are asking NOW… that God will allow these interventions to affect her bladder in a way that would ELIMINATE the need for this augmentation.  We do not want it for her and NEITHER does her doctor!!!

What about Dr. Alam? Didn’t you fire him?:  Yes.  Many times I have fired this man.  We have had our differences of opinion and personality, but… and this is a huge but… I swore that I would never let ANYONE operate on my child that I did not FEEL ok with.  It had to be WELL WITH MY SOUL before it was happening.  This time.. we walked into that office and it WAS WELL with my soul.  I think, over the course of some years with him, Alam has grown up a lot as a doctor.  I think I have grown up as a mom and now… I am ok with this.  I am calm.  I have peace and hope and pray that my Heavenly Father will continue to extend His grace to Kyleigh for this next round of surgical procedures.  So in short… Alam and I are good.

The GOOD NEWS!  Yup there is good news… aside from the fact that Kyleigh still has a good amount of function in her kidneys, all of the procedures listed above can be done AT ONE TIME!!!!!  It’s going to be a hell of a long day in the OR and hard on our hearts and nerves but it is best for her.  (see there I go loosing my religion again…)

What can YOU do? People have already started asking to help and I learned a long time ago… accepting help does NOT mean I am too weak to do it all myself.  It means I am SMART enough to let someone help me accomplish things that a single human being, or two or three, is not meant to be able to do alone… so be it!  LOL  We will take all the help we can get!!!

We are currently asking for prayers for the following:

1) Kyleigh’s body and EMOTIONAL state. She broke down crying in the parking lot of Alam’s office when we told her she is not allowed to potty on her own anymore.  The entire weight of the fact that she is NOT NORMAL and will never be came crashing down on her shoulder in that one single minute and part of me died inside.  To look at my amazing girl and tell her that life is about to change again but that we MUST do these things to make her better was not easy and its not going to be the same as when she was a baby.  I MADE myself ok with this before because I resolved that she would not remember most of it.  Now, the stakes are higher.  This is a different ball game.

2) Me and Troy.  Together and separately. Last time we went through something this hard we both (and together) came out barely breathing, marriage a mess and shells of who we used to be.  We cannot go through that again.  We need some good Christian couples to join together with us in faith that God will continue the restoration of our souls through the next year especially.  We also need people to understand that this is NOT easy on us.  The gravity of this situation can NOT be understood by anyone, no matter how hard you try, unless you have been there.  That makes for a very LONELY feeling. Pray also for our physical bodies.  Just recently we have decided to try and get healthy again but having very little time to ourselves makes that hard.  Eating on the road, in hospitals, at hotels, is not great… also, every single time I am in the hospital with Kyleigh the stress of the situation gets to me and I end up sick somehow.  Everything from strep to GI bugs… we do NOT need that for Kyleigh or for us!

3) Financially we were JUST pulling ourselves out of the whole that Kyleigh’s first three years of life put us in.  Last week we became 99% debt free.  This week we are staring down the barrel of a loaded shotgun to our finances and knowing that those bullets are headed our way.  We need a prayer for our finances, and those of our family that help us so much, that God will bless us with abundance and the ability to handle another impending financial strain.  We have no idea where the money will come from but we know that given the choice between our daughter, and the WORST possible financial situation in the world, we choose her… always have, always will.

4) Pray for our doctors, surgeons, nurses, medical staff. Pray for every single person who will come into contact with our daughter.  Pray that God will richly bless their lives, their finances, their families, their homes, their hearts and their practices.  Pray that God will strengthen and increase them with good measure.  That their cups would be full and overflowing.  Pray that God will give them wisdom and clarity of mind when dealing with anything about our daughter.  Pray that they will be careful, caring, considerate and concerned.  Pray most of all that their hand will be blessed with skill to do not only a good surgery and procedures but FINE ones… ones that make everyone else astonished!  Pray most of all for Dr. Alam, Dr. Levitt, Dr. Breech (always Dr. Joe) and call them by name as you pray.  I truly believe in a purposeful prayer!!

5) Pray for our boys. This is different for them also as they too will remember this time.  This will upset their lives.  They will be in school and will have to deal with normal daily stresses at home while we are gone on top of NOT having their mom and dad home.

6) Pray for my parents that they would be blessed with peace, courage, kindness, empathy, FINANCIAL blessings as they will be caring for the boys when we are gone (and man let me tell ya my kids eat a LOT!)… they need peace in this situation too because it stressed their hearts also.

7) Pray that everything will happen according to our Heavenly Father’s perfect plan and I can’t help but find myself hoping that His PLAN includes an uneventful, successful surgery, easy recovery and alive and WELL child afterward.

Eventually, once we have a surgery date, we will post more about the kind of help we will need while we are gone to Cincinnati.  I know that we have found an amazing group of friends in the Lord and I am so happy to know that I can rely on the Body of Christ to help take care of our family.  We will definitely need help with the boys here, trying to find fun things to distract them on the weekends and give my parents some “down” time.  We are hoping to create a schedule for them while we are gone so they have something to look forward to!  Anyone willing to hang out with our kids or take them to do something fun, please feel free to email me!    schmidt.amber@kentuckystudio.com

Also, after surgery is planned, and the final testing is done this summer we will know more about how LONG we will stay in Cincinnati.  I know we have had such generous offers to stay in the homes of some dear friends.  We WILL be taking you up on those offers!!!!  Seriously.  Kyleigh will be in the hospital for a significant number of days but after that we will have to stay LOCAL for a while longer.  I will try not to wear out our welcome anywhere!! (hopefully!)

For Kyleigh:  of course Kyleigh is a girly girl.  Many times before we have received packages of goodies for her surgeries and we will never turn away surprise boxes for her!  Simple things like stickers, coloring books, play doh, markers, my little ponies, princesses ANYTHING! etc go a long way for a child who is bed bound!  She in love with all things princess, barbie and girly!  That pretty much sums her up!  LOL

Our family is also planning a last trip to Disney before surgery in January (we are slated for January right now.. we COULD do it as early as November but I need time to wrap up the fall wedding season!).  We are planning the week before Christmas like we did last year.  We went and REALLY enjoyed it.  If you have any tips for saving money, finding a good (cheap) flight, know of a cheap (nice) place to stay, PLEASE share!!  I need to save as much money as I can at this point but we want to give our kids that one last “hurrah” if you will before their lives change again.  (Notice the theme here is cheap? LOL)

So…………… I think that should answer a lot of questions or I hope it does.  If anyone ever has any other questions please feel free to ask.  We are not scared of answering, nor does it UPSET us.  As a matter of fact sometimes its feels good to talk about it.  So do not ever feel like you are bothering us with them.  If I don’t have time I will politely tell you so!  LOL   The comings months are not going to be easy but then again Heavenly Father never promised us easy.Recent Comments:

• Dianne says Thanks for sharing your family with us, your kids are so cute! [more]
• Amber says Nicole… I emailed you! Sorry it took me so long! [more]
• Amber says Nope.. I am not gone… just busy! Had a crazy, amazing, awesome and BLESSED summer and fall [more]
• Melissa Gooch says I hope you and your family are well. I was just wondering if you have you given up this [more]
• Nicole Walters says Hello
  I was recently diagnosed with chiari, and now my children are also showing symptoms. I came across your blog online, [more]

• January 3, 2012 -- Kyleigh turned 5!!!
• January 3, 2012 -- Blessed.
• June 24, 2011 -- Kyleigh’s dance recital
• March 20, 2011 -- Spring Cleaning…. part two… Kyleigh’s room
• March 13, 2011 -- “aren’t you just beside yourself happy?”